As usual, the best in OZschwitz schools, are the Asians

Subject: As usual, the best in OZschwitz schools, are the Asians Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:06 pm

Anglo-Celtic men may still dominate the leadership of Australia, but they are relegated to the second rank at this time of year. The relegation is even more pronounced this time.

The list of best performers in the 2012 Higher School Certificate results in NSW has been released and what leaps out among the 119 students who topped the state, or scored in the highest band of results, is the dominance of young women.

The list also has a minority of Anglo-Celtic names, with a distinct paucity of students with Irish names like mine. Out of 119, I found just four: Burke, Kelly, Madigan and Cronin.

It's a formidable cultural performance given that east Asians represent about 9 per cent of the state's resident population, yet make up almost a third of the top HSC winners. Even allowing for the percentage of Asian students in the high school population, the disparity is significant.

Young women were also formidable. They dominated, taking 68 per cent of the places, a more than two-to-one advantage over young men.